WHAT IS A KING CRAB?

Photo	Names
Illustrations by Chris Van Dusen Images Courtesy of Seafood Business Magazine	Latin: Paralithodes camtschatica French: Crube German: Kurtschwanz-krebs Spanish: Cangrejo Russian: Kamchatskii krab Japanese: Tarahagani

Description

The king crab, as its name might imply, is the largest of all the commercially important crab species and is always in high demand. An adult king crab might reach lengths of up to 2.5 meters (8 ft). King crabs are unique in that they have only 6 legs while most crabs have 8. There are several varieties of king crab: red, blue, and brown or golden. The red king crab is the most commercially important variety.

Markets	Commercial Aspects
Exporting Countries Capture: United States, Russia Primary Consumers Europe, Japan, United States	The production of king crab is highly variable from year to year. In 1990 U.S. catches reached 15,000 metric tons but in 1992 catches totaled only 8,600 metric tons

Production Trends	Diet/Health Info
The harvest of king crabs is highly unpredictable and variable. As a result of heavy harvesting in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the stocks of king crabs in Alaska crashed and some have never recovered. Those that have recovered have done well. However the Russians are farming their stocks to such an extent that scientists warn the Russian stock is in danger of collapse.	——-

The Global Supply